Those who ride in the English-style generally wear English-style riding breeches. Such breeches, as is well known, often have features specifically designed for such riding activities. As breeches are relatively specialized garments, they are often correspondingly expensive. Some riders, consequently, may own only a limited number of English-style riding breeches. For this reason alone, it is often desirable to avoid soiling or otherwise dirtying the breeches when they are being worn, so as not to deplete the rider's limited clean supply.
In any event, an English-style rider often wants to keep his or her breeches clean for any number of additional reasons. For example, the rider may be participating in a horse show class, competition, or similar event. If such events are either attended by others, judged, or both, the rider will naturally wish to present a polished appearance. The cleanliness of the rider's breeches is thus important under such circumstances.
Unfortunately, it is not always easy to keep one's breeches clean before horse show classes, competitions or other judged or public events. Dirt, mud, grass, and other organic material are inescapable in equestrian facilities, riding rings, stables, and the like. A horseback rider who comes dressed for a horse show class, competition, or other judged event, cannot help but be exposed to these earthy materials, which in turn may result in dirtying or soiling of the rider's outfit, including the breeches.
Furthermore, the rider is frequently required to either groom or work the horse before class or competition. Such activities, again, are likely to displace dirt or other soiling agents which, upon contact with the breeches, will inevitably soil them. For example, during practice runs, the horse generally kicks up dirt from the riding ring. The resulting particulate, whether dust or larger pieces, sometimes is severe enough to engulf the rider in a dust cloud, but at a minimum, dirt will contact the rider and may spot and soil his or her breeches during such runs.
There is thus a need to protect a rider's breeches from elements which would otherwise make them dirty. The prior art, however, has failed to provide adequate solutions to meet the particular needs of persons desiring to protect their English-style riding breeches from the elements. In particular, while the art has disclosed numerous patentable features on riding breeches themselves, there are scant developments for garments to be worn over such riding breeches.
Generic overgarments, such as raingear and overalls, are ill suited to the particularities of English-riding breeches. An example of such generic overgarments is that shown in Thompson U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,526. A garment suitable for protecting riding breeches must be capable of being put on over English-style riding boots, which extend relatively high on the calf, even by boot standards. More importantly, such boots are notoriously inflexible at the ankle, making it difficult at best for the rider to point the toe to fit through the legs of an overgarment. Overgarments of the current art thus are not structured to allow for passage of an English-riding boot therethrough.
Similarly, it is important for the rider to be able to groom the horse before horse show class, competition, or other events. Overgarments of the prior art, however, fail to provide suitable means for storing grooming tools, including mane braiding tools and the like, as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,344 to Cooper.
It is important for the legs of garments worn while on horseback to have substantially uniform inner sides. Discontinuities or excessively large inseams on such garments, as opposed to uniformity, will abrade the horse, the rider, or both, during the frequent tight contact between the rider's inner legs and the horse's flanks. As a result, many overgarments of the prior art have bulky or otherwise non-uniform inseams or inner leg portions which would chafe and thus be unsuitable for wearing while on horseback.
Furthermore, the abrasion occurring between the inner sides of the rider's legs and the flanks of the horse would quickly wear out the inner leg portions of typical overgarments. This excessively quick wear generally makes the typical overgarments unsuitable as a long-term solution to the need to keep a rider's underlying riding breeches clean.
There is thus a need to overcome the drawbacks and disadvantages of current art and provide a garment which effectively protects a rider's breeches.
There is a further need to provide such protection and also allow such rider to perform grooming, working, and other equestrian related activities while wearing such overgarment.
There is need for such garment to be easy to don or doff while the rider is fully dressed for horse show class, competition, or other judged events, including while the rider is wearing typical, English-style riding boots.